A Sakura Wars Christmas Carol
by NinjaNao
Summary: The title says it all. A Christmas Carol, with the Sakura Wars girls...


** Disclaimer:** I don't own these characters. I am merely using them for my own amusement. I don't own the story "A Christmas Carol" either. I am just having fun with the story by changing the characters.

  
**

A Sakura Wars Christmas Carol  
By   
NinjaNao

**

The lone figure in the room stared out the window at the falling snow as she poured herself another glass of the clear liquid into her glass. With her red-gloved hand she lifted the glass to her lips and downed the contents. The liquid burned as it went down but it was a sensation that she had gotten used to long ago and now it was almost pleasant. 

She set the empty glass down on the table and pulled the locket out from under her blouse. She opened it and looked at the cherished portrait inside. 

  
Leni sat next to her dog, stroking his head. She was worried about him. He wasn't eating. With both Yoneda and Kaede away until the next day, there was nobody but Maria who was capable of driving him to see a doctor, granted a doctor would see her dog on Christmas eve. Even the commander was gone. Ogami had left to spend Christmas in Paris. Some birthday this was turning out to be. 

Iris made her into the room where Leni was sitting with the dog. "Is he any better?" She asked worried about the dog as well as Leni. It was her birthday and she should happy, not worried about her dog. They had planned a party for Leni later but it was looking more and more like it wasn't going to be a very happy event. 

Leni sighed. "He drank a little water, but he's still not eating." She replied sadly. "I wish I knew what is wrong with him."

"Do you think a doctor will see him today?" Iris asked. 

"I don't know." 

  
Orihime stood outside Maria's locked door. She took a deep breath and pounded on the door demanding to be let in. "MAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" she screamed. "You can't stay in there forever! OPEN THE DOOR!" 

There was no answer. 

Orihime screamed again. "MAAAAAARRRRRIIIIIAAAAAAA!!" 

Kanna strolled leisurely down the corridor. She heard Orihime first. She saw her standing at Maria's door. "Oi. I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kanna replied. 

Orihime turned to the large woman. "Leni's dog is sick and Maria is the only one who can drive him to see a doctor." Orihime responded. "And it's Leni's birthday. Doesn't she even care about that? How can Leni be happy and celebrate when she is so worried about the dog?" 

Kanna didn't really know what to say. "Er... Well, this has been a rough couple of months." She replied. "I think Maria just needs some time to be alone. Maybe I can carry the dog to the doctor?" 

"Hrmph. Maria should do it. She is the acting commander when Ogami is not here." Orihime replied as Sakura walked up to them. 

"What's going on? What's all the screaming about?" she asked. "I could hear you all the way down stairs, Orihime." 

"Maria won't open the door to take Leni's dog to the doctor." Orihime replied. "I thought I was supposed to be the 'diva' around here. She's the dashing 'prince'. She should be taking care of her underlings." 

Sakura sighed. It had been a rough couple of months. She knew what must be bothering Maria. Maria had told her about her past. "Maria just needs some time to herself." Sakura replied. 

Orihime turned back to Maria's door. "MAAAAAARRRRRRRIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAA!!" she screamed. 

BANG! A bullet pierced the door barely missing the three of them. 

Wide eyed at the near miss, the three of them walked away from Maria's door and headed down to check on Leni. 

  
Kanna had carried Leni's dog into the dining area so that they all could keep an eye on him while they ate. Leni tired to feed him some of her birthday dinner, but he still didn't want to eat anything. 

After dinner, the birthday cake remained in the kitchen and the birthday presents went unopened. Leni, Iris, Kanna, Orihime, Sakura and Kouran went up to there rooms. Kanna carried Leni's dog. They were all that remained at the opera house, other than Maria who did not come down for dinner. 

As they passed Yoneda's office, the phone rang. With nobody at the desk to answer it, Sakura rushed over. 

"Hello?" she responded. "Oh, Ogami-san! How is Paris?" 

Upon hearing that it was Ogami on the phone the other girls crowded around Sakura in an attempt to hear him too. 

"Ogami!!" they all shouted. 

"What?" Sakura asked. "Oh, Leni? No. It's not too late. We were just about to go to bed. Huh? Oh yeah." 

Sakura turned to Leni, smiling. "Ogami-san wants to talk to you, Leni." 

Shyly, Leni took the phone. "Hello?" 

She heard Ogami give a countdown and then the Paris girls sing her Happy Birthday in French. She blushed. 

Ogami wanted to know how things were, so Leni told her about how her dog wasn't eating and the battles that had been taking their toll on the team. Maria was handling things well, but was not feeling very well lately. She told Ogami not to worry and enjoy his stay in Paris. 

The phone was handed off to everybody so that they all could get a chance to speak to him, and then they all said their good-byes. 

  
Maria tossed and turned. It was a normal night, filled with its share of the usual nightmares of that fateful battle. She watched helplessly as Yuri was killed before her eyes. 

She sat up in a cold sweat. She could still hear the gunfire of the battlefield and her comrades calling to her. At that moment, Yuri stepped out of the shadows and stood before her. 

Maria rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but he did not go away. 

"Maria," Yuri replied. "There was nothing that you could do. I am truly sorry that I did not live long enough to see the end of the fighting, to start a new life with you." 

Maria started to cry and reached out to him. 

Yuri stayed just out of reach. "You can not go on living like this, dreading the past, closing yourself off to everyone." 

"Everybody I am close to dies." Maria cried. "I do not want to lose my friends again the way I lost you." 

"Your new friends understand. They will understand more if you open up to them." Yuri replied. 

"They do not understand." Maria responded. 

"Do you think you are the only one who has suffered?" 

"I do not want anymore suffering." She replied. "I should have died a long time ago. I should not have accepted her offer." 

The gunfire of the battlefield grew closer. "You have touched many lives, Maria. You are not alone in your suffering." Yuri looked behind him and then turned back to Maria. "Tonight you will be visited three times. They will show you the past, present and future of yourself and those you care most about. You will then decide how it is that you want to live." 

With that Yuri turned and said farewell. He ran off into the battle. Maria watched as he was felled by gunfire. She cried out but there was nobody there to hear her. 

Maria woke up. When had she fallen asleep? There was somebody in the room. It was a little girl, holding a teddy bear. Iris? 

The little girl said nothing and held out her hand to Maria. 

Was this the first visitor that Yuri spoke of? What was Iris doing? 

Maria took the little girls hand. Suddenly they were on the beach of Okinawa. The little girl pointed to a father and son jogging in the early morning. As they passed by Maria could see that it was not a son, but a daughter. Kanna? The little girl was trying to keep up. She was complaining that she wanted to open her Christmas presents. Her father told her that there was no time for Christmas, only training. The little girl sniffled and tried to keep up. 

Next Maria found herself in a large banquet hall. By the décor, Maria guessed that it was Germany. Leni? 

Leni sat at a table of adults. They were all laughing and enjoying themselves completely ignoring the little girl. When they did pay attention to her it was to praise her efforts and ask her to show them her talents. Never once did they show any real interest in her. She seemed to be more of an object than anything else. After dinner, Leni was asked to entertain everybody with her musicianship. She looked very tired and miserable as she played the happy tunes for the adults. 

The room was decorated for Christmas. The house was coming alive as everybody made his or her way to the tree. The father and mother were horrified to see that their daughter had opened all of the presents, even those that were not hers. She was looking very disappointed at her parents. 

"You didn't get me what I asked for!" she said. 

Her father took the young girl over her knee and proceeded to spank the child. 

Maria couldn't help herself and snickered at the sight of a little Sumire getting spanked for opening all of the gifts.

Again, Maria found herself in a strange room. This one was dark. There were dolls and stuffed animals everywhere. The little girl on the bed woke up and took a deep breath as she looked at her calendar as the lights turned on. The days had been x-ed out. It was the 25th of December. She picked up her beloved teddy bear. "Joyeux Noël, Jean-Paul." She replied. Iris? 

The door to the room opened. A large cart of exquisitely wrapped presents was pushed into the room and the door closed. The little girl hopped off her bed hugging the teddy bear and walked over to her gifts. Her dolls and stuffed animals gathered around her as she opened them. 

Maria was out on the battlefield. She recognized this place. It was her past they were visiting now. She saw herself. She was laughing with the older soldiers as they decorated a tree with medals and colored cloth taken from uniforms and ornaments they had made from shell casings. Yuri held her up so that she could place an angel she had made atop the tree. 

"There you see? Your life was not as miserable as you want to believe it was." The little girl replied. "You were happy once." 

"Once." Maria replied. She was back in her room, under her covers. Had it been a dream? She lay back down and closed her eyes. 

  
Maria smelled food. She opened her eyes to see a large banquet table in the center of her room piled high with all kinds of food. At the far end was somebody eating. Kanna? 

No, it wasn't Kanna. Just like the first one wasn't Iris. So this was the second visitor. What would this one show her? Would this one show her anything? At the rate she seemed to be enjoying her food, she didn't think so. The sight off all the food made Maria very hungry as she realized that she had not had dinner. 

Her visitor looked up and invited her to sit down and enjoy the feast. When Maria sat down at the opposite end she was laughed at and told to come closer. As Maria did the visitor let out a hearty, loud belch. 

"Excuse me." the visitor replied. "What in the world were you doing locked up alone in your room all day? It's Christmas. You should be out spending time with your friends, and don't you tell me that you don't have any." The visitor asked waving a turkey leg in Maria's face. 

The visitor wiped her mouth on her sleeve and stood up. "Well, I don't have much time. We'd better get going. I've got a lot to show you tonight and if I'm late, Cactus Woman will never let me hear the end of it." 

A ricksha appeared in the room and the visitor stood ready to pull it. "Hop in." she replied. "And hold on tight!." 

Maria got in. She regretted that. She was zoomed through the door, down the hall. In an instant they were outside and leaving Japan. Maria saw the Eiffel Tower. Paris? 

The visitor parked the ricksha outside the Chattes Noires. Maria and the visitor entered. The Paris girls were putting on a show. Blue Eye was onstage taunting Ogami who was blushing much to the amusement of the crowd. Next was Saffire who came out and did a sensuous yet, elegant dance. Magical Girl Coquelicot was in the crowd and holding a sprig of mistletoe. She danced around as the others joined her in the crowd. She held it over Evian's head and much to his surprise, Saffire kissed him. The girls laughed at the look on the Commisaire's face. 

"Time to go." The visitor replied leading Maria out. 

They zoomed past various sights until they arrived in a remote village. Siberia. Maria quickly recognized it as Shushenskoe, her childhood home where she lived with her parents before her parents died. Despite not having a lot, the villagers were happy. The children played in the streets with their friends and new toys. 

Maria took a moment and went to what used to be her house. Inside there was a happy new family. She allowed herself to smile, remembering the good times that she had with her mother and father. 

"Okay, time's up." The visitor replied. 

Maria protested. 

"Time? Remember?" the visitor replied. "Believe me, you don't want to keep the old hag waiting. We've got one more stop, but at least this one is close to my drop off point." 

Maria was whisked across the continents again and found herself back in the opera house. They were inside Leni's room. 

Maria saw the German girl on her bed. Her dog was beside her. Leni was crying. The dog was dead. 

"No!" Maria screamed. "Please tell me that the dog does not die." 

"I can't tell you that." The visitor replied. "I can only show you what is going to happen at the present time. 

Maria grabbed the visitor. "Please tell me Hund will be all right!" she demanded. 

  
"Wake up!" a voice replied. "We don't have all night. I need my beauty sleep. Thank goodness I don't have to trek all over this god-forsaken planet to show you what a fool you are being like the others. But really. I shouldn't have to be doing this at all." 

Maria opened her eyes. Visitor number three. The last one. Sumire? 

"Get up!" she demanded. 

Maria obeyed the 'top star' and was quickly lead outside to the courtyard. There she found a small graveyard. An older, more mature Leni kneeled down at a headstone. She recognized Orihime behind her. 

"I don't see why you put flowers on her grave every time you visit Hund's. It's her fault he's dead." Orihime replied. 

Leni shook her head. "It wasn't her fault." Leni replied. "We should have tried to get closer to Maria, help her." 

"Ha!" Orihime responded with disgust turning away. "You're being too nice about it."

"I'm dead?" Maria asked. "How? How did I die?" 

"Hrmph. You killed yourself. Shot yourself in the head. You didn't even leave a note to say good -bye." The visitor replied. 

Maria stumbled back. She had often thought of suicide, but would she actually do it? 

Maria walked up to the headstone. She read it. "Maria Tachibana. Top Star. Beloved friend. May you finally find the happiness that you have sought." 

  
With a thud, Maria fell to the floor. It was light outside. How long had she been asleep. Was it all a dream? What time was it? More importantly, what day was it? 

Maria quickly dressed herself and rushed to Leni's room. She knocked on the door waking the girl who groggily opened the door. 

Rubbing her eyes, Leni looked at Maria. "It's early." 

"Get dressed. We are taking Hund to the doctor now." Maria replied. 

"But it's Christmas. I doubt anybody will see him today." Leni replied. 

"Do not worry. I have a plan." Maria smiled. 

  
It was Christmas morning! Iris woke up happy. She ran down the stairs to the Christmas tree. The presents were still there. She couldn't wait to see what was wrapped inside. 

The door of the opera house opened. Iris looked to the door. "SUMIRE!" she screamed running to the young lady who had just stepped inside. "Joyeux Noël, Sumire." 

Sumire smiled and added her presents to the pile under the tree. "Joyeux Noël, Iris." 

The others made their way down and all of then happily greeted Sumire and welcomed her back to the opera house for Christmas. Sakura looked up the stairs. She was worried. 

"Have any of you tired to wake up Maria or Leni?" she asked. "Do you know if Hund is all right?" 

The girls all looked at each other shaking their heads as Sumire just was confused. Then Iris squealed and pointed. 

Pulling a small sleigh filled with gifts was a very happy Hund. Following the sleigh was Leni dressed as an elf and Santa? 

"Ho! Ho! ho! Merry Christmas!" Santa replied. 

Kanna laughed immediately recognizing that voice and walked up to Santa taking off his hat and pulling down the beard. "Maria!" 

Maria smiled, then laughed. "Merry Christmas, Kanna." 


End file.
